Remington Arms Company, LLC is an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition in the United States. It was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. Remington is America's oldest gun maker and "It's America's oldest factory that still makes its original product-guns."[2] It is the only U.S. company which produces both firearms and ammunition domestically and is the largest U.S. producer of shotguns and rifles. Remington has also developed or adopted more cartridges than any other gun maker or ammunition manufacturer in the world. Additionally its products are distributed in over 60 foreign countries, making its distribution base and availability wider than those of its competitors.[citation needed]

The Remington company was founded in 1816. Eliphalet Remington II (1793 - 1861) believed he could build a better gun than he could buy. Farming communities in the region were famous for their diverse skills and self-sufficiency, and the winter seasons were used for crafts that provided goods for self-use and also for sale. Remington's father was a blacksmith, and wanted to expand his business into rifle barrel production. Local residents often built their own rifles to save on costs, but purchased the barrel. Remington's father sent him to a well-known barrel maker in a major city to purchase a barrel, with the mission of observing the barrel-making technique. At the time, the method was to heat and wrap long flat bars of iron around a metal rod of the caliber desired. By heating and hammering the coiled bars around the central rod, the barrel metal became fused into a solid cylinder, at which point the rod was pressed out. After the young man returned home, his family added a successful barrel making operation to his father's forge, in Ilion Gorge, New York.

Remington-Rider Single Shot Deringer. Made c. 1860-1863

Remington New Model Army Revolver, made 1863-1875

Remington .46 Conversion

Remington began designing and building a flintlock rifle for himself. At age 23 (in the fall of 1816), he entered a shooting match; though he only finished second, his well-made gun impressed other shooters. Before Remington left the field that day, he had received so many orders from other competitors that he was now officially in the gunsmithing business. By 1828, the operation moved to nearby Ilion, New York, at the same site which is used by the modern Remington firearms plant.

In 1912, Remington and Union Metallic Cartridge Company were combined into a single entity, called Remington UMC. Even today, Remington produces U.M.C. brand ammunition. In 1915, the plant at Ilion was expanded, and with this expansion became basically the same plant as today.

When the U.S. entered the war, Remington became deeply involved in the war effort.[6] Notable contributions by Remington included development and production of the U.S. M1917 Enfield rifle, a simplified version of the British Pattern 1914, and development of the Pedersen device.

Late in the war, the collapse of the Imperial Russian government had a severe impact on Remington finances. Russia had ordered enormous quantities of arms and ammunition, but ran short of money to pay for the orders. They delayed payment, pointing to alleged defects in Remington products. When the Bolsheviks took power in the Russian Revolution, they repudiated the contract entirely. Remington was left with huge stocks of guns and ammunition, and no prospects for payment. The U.S. government stepped up to purchase the firearms thereby preventing Remington from absolute loss.[7] Noting the explosive growth of business at the beginning of the war, and the precipitous decline at the end of the war, Remington made the conscious decision to promote and emphasize their line of sporting products. They viewed hunting products as a more stable business which might help them to survive future ups and downs.

During the Great Depression, Remington was purchased by the DuPont Corporation, which had made its fortune with improvements to gunpowder. A year later, Remington purchased the Peters Cartridge Company; today, many of the Remington headstamps still have R-P on them for Remington-Peters.[8]

In 1940, the U.S. Army became worried about its ammunition capacity, and asked Remington to collaborate in a plan for national expansion. With the aid of DuPont, Remington built the Lake City Arsenal and Denver Ordnance ammunition plants, and three more plants later on, including the Lowell Ordnance Plant. Though the plants belonged to the U.S. government, Remington was asked to oversee their operation. Among the weapons Remington manufactured for the government during World War II was the famous M1903A3 Springfield bolt-action rifle.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Remington branched out into other products besides guns, with the purchase of Mall Tool Company in 1956.[9][10] One of the products was chain saws.[11]

In 1962 Remington introduced the Model 700bolt-actionrifle. The rifle became one of Remington's most successful firearms, and quickly lent itself to developments of many sub-variants, including the Remington 700 BDL, Remington 700PSS for police and law enforcement agencies (the rifle, later renamed 700P, is very popular among law enforcement agencies) and the militaryM24 SWS which was the USA Army standard sniper rifle between 1988–2010 and still serves among other armed forces around the world, such as the IDF. Other firearms companies designed and manufactured sniper rifles based on the reliable and accurate Remington Model 700 action.

In 1986, Remington closed its ammunition plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, creating a brand-new facility in Lonoke, Arkansas. This site was chosen as the geographic center of the sporting ammunition market. A year later, Remington built a new clay targets plant in Athens, Georgia.

In June 2007, a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, acquired Remington Arms for $370 million, including $252 million in assumed debt. This happened because Remington was millions of dollars in debt and did not report a profit during the years 2003–2005.[12]

As of 2009, ammunition sales continued to remain high during the ongoing United States Ammunition Shortage. Chief Executive Officer Ted Torbeck said that consumer concerns over future restrictions and taxes on ammunition and firearms by the Obama administrations were creating a rise in demand.[14]

In 2010, Remington introduced the fastest commercially available shotgun shell, Hypersonic Steel, with a patented wad technology that allows the shot to travel at 1700 FPS.

After a 12-year absence in the handgun market, Remington announced the Model 1911 R1. The last handgun produced by Remington Arms, the Model XP-100R, ceased production in 1998. Later that year, Remington introduced the Versa Max auto-loading shotgun. Its patented Versa Port system self-regulates gas pressure based on the length of the cartridge used, enabling the shotgun to shoot light 2 3/4" target loads, 3" hunting loads, and 3 1/2" magnum hunting loads.

In 2012, Remington won the U.S. Army contract to manufacture 24,000 M4A1 carbines at $673 per unit worth $16,163,252 total.[16]

In 2013, Remington introduced the Model 783 bolt-action rifle. The engineering team started from scratch and designed advanced, accuracy-enhancing features to create an all-new platform.

In 2013, for the first time since 1928, Remington began to offer an air rifle, called the "Remington Express".[17]

Remington announced a plan for a new state of the art plant in Huntsville, Alabama on 17 February 2014. Remington moved two production lines from the Ilion, New York as a result of the fallout from the New York Safe Act which restricted gun ownership.[2][4] Huntsville is now building the AR platform Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) from Bushmaster, DPMS and Remington Remington R-15 and 1911 style R-1 pistols in the new AL plant which is an $87 million boon for Alabama's economy.[18] The new plant consolidates Remington's production to promote efficiency and lower production costs.[3] Experts in the gun industry believe that it is only a matter of time before Remington completely abandons its New York roots for states that are more gun friendly and pro business.[4]

Firearms Plants: Remington owns two firearms plants. The larger plant is located in Ilion, New York, at the historic site. This plant also is home to Remington's Powdered Metal Products Division. A new, state-of-the-art firearms facility was recently built in Mayfield, Kentucky.

Ammunition and Components Plant: All of Remington's ammunition is now made at the 35-year-old plant in Lonoke, Arkansas. This plant also is home to Remington's Industrial Products Division, and Ammunition Product Services.

Huntsville, Alabama Facility This new facility will employ 2,000 people and has plans for future expansion. The Bushmaster AR MSR and 1911 pattern R-1 lines from Ilion, New York, are now produced here.[3][4]DPMS Panther Arms is moving from St. Cloud, MN to the new Alabama facility.[19][20]

Remington's former ammunition factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was investigated by the Travel Channels, Ghost Adventures in 2009. The site was eventually purchased by Peter DiNardo Enterprises Inc. and is scheduled for demolition.[21]

^Henning, Robert A.; Terrence H. Witkowski (November 2013). "The Advertising of E. Remington & Sons: The Creation of a National Brand, 1854-1888". Journal of Historical Research in Marketing 5: 418–438.